Gurugram: A few are all set for a life without plastic

GURUGRAM: Single-use plastic ban is spreading fast across the world. And the Millennium City is also not far behind — in fact, it is leading the way with the 3Bs (carry your bag, bottle and box while travelling) to avoid single-use plastics such as straws, shopping bags and cutlery.
Several residential societies are also segregating their waste and banning entry of any plastic packaging material at the entry points.A number of residents are offering free cloth bags in lieu of plastic bags and sensitising the local grocery shop owners too.

A promising example is Sector 14 resident Sameera Satija, who runs Crockery Bank For Everyone, a non-profit initiative that lets people rent steel crockery for events for free. “I came up with the idea in June last year and invested in steel glasses and thaalis. It is an idea which is replicable for everyone,” says the government auditor.
Ruchika Sethi Takkar, a resident of Sector 51, says a number of people in her sector are also undertaking various initiatives to reduce single-plastic use.“We have said no to plastic liners in bins, which are single-use. A big no to purchases of plastic-wrapped fruit and vegetables, food deliveries. We are practising 3Bs, reusing cloth bags, and taking back home leftovers from restaurants in our own boxes,” she says.La Lagune residents are following the 3Bs mantra religiously too. Kavita Bansal, a resident, says, ‘Whenever I step out of the house, I keep a bag for my impulsive shopping needs. I carry my own water bottle. I avoid using aluminium foil to pack my children’s lunch boxes.”
In Nirvana Country in Sector 50, residents of Fresco, a condominium, have been running a campaign called #MyFrescoplaticfree for the past two weeks. They are inviting others to get their plastic waste converted into “wealth”. “We started banning plastic (not just single-use) in our society two weeks ago. On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, all Frescoites made eco-bricks using discarded pet bottles and jars and plastic wrappers,” We will use eco-bricks to make benches and bins inside the premises,” says Nilesh Tandon, a resident. “We are also planning to use other recyclables to create items of use like planters from single-use food containers. We are not an enforcement agency but 48 volunteers from our society are sensitising delivery guys and giving out cloth bags in exchange of plastic bags. This has brought about a great change in residents and local vendors,” he adds. Nina Gupta, a resident of Vipul Belmonte, says all the drivers, gardeners and domestic helps in the housing society have been given cloth bags by the residents. “We have been segregating waste and it is disposed of in a sustainable manner with the help of NGOs .”
Help is at hand from MCG as well. On Tuesday, MCG commissioner Amit Khatri distributed free cloth bags in Sector 51 and urged residents not to demand polythene bags from shopkeepers and “instead take a cloth or jute bag”.